Sometimes the Living is Sweet
by CaribouXlover
Summary: After Jack's heartbreaking relationship comes to an end, he finds comfort in a new girl who is stubborn, proud, and beautiful. Will she fall for him, too? Or will it just be another heartbreak?
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

Jack Kelly waited nerveously on the roof of the apartment building the Jacobs family inhabited in. His girlfriend Sarah had told him to meet her up there earlier, that they needed to have a talk, but she didn't sound very happy, and so Jack was really scared. Things had been a bit rocky between the couple ever since the end of the Newsie strike, but he didn't know why. The minutes seemed to last for hours as he waited for Sarah's arrival on the rooftop. Finally he heard footstep's ascending the stairs.

"I didn't think you'd come", Sarah said. Jack just kept his head down and stared at his cowboy boots.

"Well I, did, so, what is it that ya need ta tell me?", he responded.

"Listen," she started, "I think we should see other people." He knew this was coming, but he didn't think it would hurt as much as it did. He fought back the tears welling up in his crystal blue eyes and whispered

"But…why?"

"Listen Jack, it's nothing personal…it's just that…", she seemed to be at a loss for words. She contemplated what she was going to say next and continued, "Look, I went to Medda's last night and-"

"-and ya met some otha guy, right Who is he?", Jack interrupted.

"Not exactly", Sarah replied sheepishly.

"Then what is it?", the cowboy newsie demanded.

"Well, I was watching Medda sing and, well, she is so _beautiful_, Jack."

"Wait, Wait, Wait, What?!" Jack cried, "Ya're leavin' me fa MEDDA?"

"I'm afraid so. Jack, it's not you, it's me. You're a great boyfriend, but I just don't think it can work out between us with the way I feel about Medda."

"Yeah. Ya're right. It won't work out", Jack snapped, coldly.

"Jack! We can still be friends, can't we?", begged Sarah. Jack didn't say anything, but quickly turned to leave.

Jack hurried down the stairs and out of the apartment buliding. He ran for as long as he could. Finally he stopped running, and let his forehead drop against a building in an alley way. He just stood there, and sobbed for a long time, letting it all out. Sarah was the only girl he ever cared for; it figured something like this should happen to him, he never got to keep anything he loved.

When he eventually ran out of tears, he sank to the floor and buried his head in his hands. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound on the other side of the alley. Someone was there!

"Who's there?", he called. No answer. He cried out again, still no answer. "If you don't answer me, you'll be sorry, buddy," he threatened.

"Woah, Woah, Woah, no need ta get dramatic, there, kid", a girl of about 16 said, as she stepped out from the shadows.

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First fic, lol. Be nice! Reveiws plz lots and lots :)


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Jack studied the girl who had just appeared. She had long awbern hair that cascaded down her back, and her eyes were a curious shade of purple that left him stunned. And although she looked like she hadn't been cleaned in many days, she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. Yes! Even prettier than Sarah! Yet the two girls were beautiful in completely different ways. Sarah, in her thoughtfulness for others. But Jack saw a different kind of beauty in the eyes of this new girl. She had spirit, attitude, and pride.

"Wha's ya name, goil?", Jack said, mortified that this beautiful girl had been listening in on him wallowing in self pity.

"Da name's Zoey, don't wear it out!"

"What are you doin' here?"

"What is this, 20 questions or something?"

"Well, I'd like ta know why ya're creepin' around in alleys all by yaself. That's dangerous fer a goil as pretty as you."

"Can the sweet talk, kid-",

"-The name's Kelly, Jack Kelly."

"Whatever. If ya really wanna know why I'm here, I'll tell ya, but it's none of ya business. My parents died a couple month's back. My motha got tuberculosis, and my fatha was so in love wit her that he died too-"

"-I'm sorry," Jack interrupted.

"I'm not done. When me parents died, I had nowhere to go, so I was a street rat. Livin' on the streets was tough, but not as tough as me. I was starvin' so I stole some food."

"I like how ya think," Jack snickered.

"Yeah, ha. That woiked out for a while, but then I got caught and sent to da refuge. About a week ago, I broke out, and I've been hiding in the streets ever since," Zoey finished.

"That don't sound like any kinda life worth livin'."

"Yeah? What's it to ya what I gotta do to survive?," Zoey snapped, slightly offended.

"I'm just sayin' that if ya looking for somewhere to stay, I know a place."

"Yeah?", Zoey inquired, genuinely interested.

"That is, if ya willin' to take on the life of a newsie."

"A newsie? That'd be so boreing. Selling newspapers all day long?" Jack was genuinely offended.

"Well, than be my guest and continue livin' in the gutta!", he retorted. Zoey shifted uncomfortably while he walked away. Finally she decided that living as a newsie would be better than struggling every day and not knowing where she was going to find her next meal. At least with the newsies she'd have a sense of stability. I sighed and ran to catch up with him.

"Alright, alright. I'll try it. But If I hate it, I'm leaving, and you can't stop me," Zoey said, in step with Jack.

"Fine by me", and he spit in his hand and held it out. Being no stranger to the streets and it's inhabitants, Zoey did the same. They walked in silence for a while until Zoey finally said

"So what happened to ya?"

"Whatcha mean?"

"Somethin big musta happened fa someone to be cryin' their eyes out like you were in that alleyway. Unless ya just a big baby and ya girlfriend broke up wit ya, and that's how you handle it--" Zoey said. Jack's face went bright red, and Zoey realized that what she said was what acatully happened to her new companion.

"--oh…," Zoey felt really awkward.

"Yeah, turns out my goil was lesbian for one of my parents' old friends…"

"ouch. That must suck, sorry," Zoey stumbled through her apology.

"Yeah. I'd rather not think of that right now", Jack said as he winced. Every thought of Sarah brought a stabbing pain through his heart, and once again he found himself fighting to keep back the tears welling up in his eyes. He decided to change the subject

"So, I think you'll like the lodging house. It ain't nuttin' fancy, but the otha boys their are real good guys. Of course there's Race, Mush, Blink, Skittery, Crutchy-nevamind, I'll introduce you to them when we get there. But don't worry, I won't let them touch ya."

"I'm a big girl, I think I can take care of myself," Zoey chided. They walked the rest of the way in silence. Apparently Jack's new companion didn't want to make conversation. Zoey thought they would never stop walking, when Jack made them turn to find an old building with a green sign that said "Newsboys lodging house".

"Okay, this is it," Jack said, and he held open the door for her.


	3. Chapter 3

This is a short one, sorry guys P

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CHAPTER 3

As they entered the lodging house, Zoey saw many boys fooling around, playing poker, etc. Then, the newsies started to notice that their leader had just walked in. The first to stand up was a short, Italian newsie.

"Hey cowboy!," he said as he playfully punched him on the arm. The rest of the newsies got up and did the same. When everyone had said their hello's to Jack, they finally took notice of the beautiful girl standing next to him.

"Wow-y!," a newsie with an eye-patch said, taking off his hat. Zoey rolled her eyes at his stupidity. Jack introduced all his friends to Zoey, and soon she was talking to all of them like they were really good friends.

"Zoey," Jack started, interrupting her conversation with a newsie wearing pink, "We gotta go see about you livin' here."

"yeah, yeah," Zoey said, reluctantly leaving her conversation. They walked into another room where they were greeted by an old guy that Jack called Kloppman. Zoey guessed that he was the landlord at the lodging house. Jack asked Kloppman if Zoey could stay with them. After some persuading, Kloppman agreed that if Zoey could earn her keep with the rest of the newsies, she was welcome.

Zoey spent the rest of the night getting to know the newsies. As the hours grew late, the boys decided to go get ready for bed, as they had to be up with the sun the next morning. The boys were courteous and let Zoey use the bathroom before them, so she could have some privacy. Zoey's bed was under Jack's, and after everyone had gotten into their beds, most of them fell asleep, including Zoey. About an hour later, she awoke to a conversation between Jack, Skittery, Mush, and Race.

"She's really beautiful ain't she?", Jack asked the others with a sigh.

"Yeah, a real heaven," Mush agreed.

"So, who's got dibs?", Skittery asked. Zoey was outraged. Dibs! As if she were some sort of prize! But she lay awake, with her eyes closed, so that they wouldn't realize that she was awake and listening to their conversation.

"I say we roll for it, double or nothin'," Race suggested.

"Are you kidding? We already lose all our money to you!," Mush said.

Mush, Skittery, and Race had an outburst of bickering, until they were interrupted by Jack.

"Boys, boys boys! Who found her? Who brought her back to the lodgin' house? If anyone has dibs on her, it's me!," Jack said, smugly. The rest of them couldn't argue with him. "I bet I can get her to like me in less than a week!"

"How much?," Race asked eagerly.

"Not really, Race. I'm not bettin' nuttin', it's a figure of speech, stupid."

"Okay, you're on, Jack. If you can get her to like you in less than a week, we'll back off. But if not, she's fair game," Mush suggested.

Zoey was disgusted. How dare they? Fair game, indeed! Well she would show them! And as God was her witness, she would never like Jack. Never! He's a foul cretin. Why, she only just met him hours ago! Ignoring the rest of the conversation, she rolled over and began to fall asleep again.

"He'll be sorry," she barely whispered before drifting off into a dead sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Sometimes the livin' is sweet chapter 4- epic duel.

A week went by and Zoey didn't like him because he said that and it she thought that it was rude, and since she was such a headstrong young lady she obviously woudln't like such street trash like him Jack has a bad attitude and is a sore loser so he doesn't know what to do and his feelings actually are hurt and stuff.

Jack was hurtin' on the inside and he felt all emo and all he could do lately was cry and the other newsies started making fun of him and junk. When they were done, he told them they better stop or he would make them all regeret that they every said anything bad about his characta.

But as the weeks fluew by, Jack decided that he wasn't going to try to win Zoey over and whatever happened happaned and he coudlnt' country her feelings.

Little did Zack know that Joey had a whole heart full of beautiful love feelings for him too. She wanted to let him know, but she was so scared of being seen as follish by the other boys and girls. She always tryed to drop suddle hints, but either he saw them and didn't care, or he was completely unaware of her undying comppassion for his soul.

As the minutes turned into hours turned into days, the two were miserable without each other. They both felt an emptiness that only one thing could fill...each other. Jack knew that only Zoey's fingers inbetween his could satisfy the hunger in his soul. and Zoey knew that only Jack's lips on hers could inebriate her heart to the point of euphoria. They needed each other. They needed each other like an addictive hallucignic drug, like LSD or roofies.

Finally after more weeks flew by, they could no longer resist the temptation to fill the space in each other's hearts. Jack met Zoey on the roof telling her to go there.

At first, things were really awk. They couldn't even make eye contact. As they both sunk into the silence, they knew they had to tell their beloveds what was on their minds.

"I have something to tell you!" they both exclaimed at the same time, stabbing a knife into the silence.

"Okay, you go first!", they said simultainiously again.

"Okay", they said at the same time for the third time.

"I love you", they both confessed. They each felt an enormous weight being lifted off their shoulders as they stared at one another in shock n' awe.

_Could it be true? Could it really be true? _Jack thought, his eyes like scrambled eggs.

_He _loves _me? _Zoey thought, bewilderd.

Neither of them said anything, but instead they laned forward and let their 2 mouths melt into one.


	5. Chapter 5

Sometimes the living is sweet chapter 5-A new friend

Jack and Zoey sat on the rooftop. Zoey was on his lap with her arms around his neck and he had his hands on her waste. They were STILL kissing. They kissed and kissed and kissed. As the kiss deepend, they both felt a sense of belonging greater then anything and it made up for all the bad stuff that happened to both of them. Jack found it ironic that the best thing in his life was happening on a rooftop, just as the worst thing in his life also happened on a rooftop as well.

There tongues explored each others moist mouths with a sense of needing and hunger. This is because they waited so long and the tempation overcame them and they were so in love. Jack moved his hands up from her waist and carressed her all over. All of a sudden she felt something hard on one of her legs, and she knew the time had come.

He lifted her off of him and set her down next to him.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?," he asked.

"yes," she replied, smiling because he was so considerate and she was happy that he was concerned about her feelings and all that good stuff.

She pulled off her boy clothes and he took all his cowboy junk off and the two lovers became one on the rooftop.

Some time and a lot of pleasure later, Zoey woke up totally naked in Jack's arms, who was also naked. Her first reaction was euphoric, because she was just with her love. Except her second reaction was one of shock adn horror. As her eyes became accustomed to being awake, she saw that all the other newsies were watching her. She elbowed Jack in the side, to get him to get the fuck up because all his friends were getting stiffies. He woke up and screamed at them and they all ran off the roof. Zoey was getting all of her clothes on, while tears of embarrassment fileld her eyes. Jack was ttoally surprised since she's all tough and everythign and he never thought that she could be embarrassed at all. But she was.

Jack threw his clothes on and looked up to see Zoey trying to leave.

"No, no, wait!", he cried.

"This was a mistake!", she said, as she turned to leave again.

"No, Zoey, please wait," he said again and he reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving.

She turned around and fell into him, letting out the tears and burying her head in his chest. He put his arms around her like all the good boyfriends do and he thought that smugly while he was doing so.

"shhhh shh shh", he patted her back.

"She broke away from him and looked up". She opened her mouth to say something, but Jack put his finger to her lips, but soon replaced his finger with his own lips. Then he broke away and said "Zoey listen, I love you more than anything, and I will straighten them out, you don't have to worry.

She smiled because he was a good boyfriend. (Were they even going out?) and she planted one on him and they swapped spit for a good hour or something like that.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sometimes the living is sweet chapter 6- The audacity of hope by Barack Obama.**

**About 2 months passed by and everyone forgot about the roof incidient, everybody that is except for jacka nd zoey. In fact, they repeated that act many times in the next weeks. There was still a huge problem though and Zoey knew it and nobody else seemed to expect it. Well, actually that's not true because people did notice it, they just didn't really know what it was. This is where our final chapter of the story unfolds: Tibby's restaruant. **

**The guys and Zoey were all hanging out at the normal hang out hanging out. Jack was sitting next to Zoey and he had his arm around her shoulders. Everybody noticed that zoey was eating a lot more than usual. A lot more than her usual dinner of scraps of chicken bones and bread soup that Jack allowed her to eat on the floor next to them. The rest of the newsies were staring at her. She looked up, and met eyes with Race, who says "Hey, uh Zoey, you know you're gettin really fat since you've been eatin' like this." Zoey dropped her spoon, and ran from the room sobbing. **

**Jack sighed and was like well I guess I should go after her or she'll kick me in the balls. She was sitting with her head buried in her knees and sobbing. **

**"hey..hey...come on" Jack said awkwardly, getting down to her level and putting an arm around her. "what's wrong? Is it race? You're not fat zoey, though you have been eating a hell of a lot lately, whaddafux up wit dat?**

**"She looked up from her lap and glared at him. "this is all your fault!" she wailed. **

**"Me?!?" He looked soooo confused as she started banging her fists against his hard muscle chest.**

**"I'm not getting fat because I've been eating a lot!...it's because....because.....' her voice broke. "because, I'm going to have a baby" she whispered softly.**

**"WHAT?! Jack yelled!" **

**"and Jack...it's.....it's not yours". she confessed."Wait, Zoey how the fuck could you know it's nto mine if you're only like 3 months pregnant?**

**"I don't know Jack. It's Kid Blink's. I've been trying to tell you for such a huge time but you were making me feel like a bit of flotsam in the sea of life." **

**"I'm so sorry, I didn't hear you. I can't look at you without a stabbing pain coming through my heart", Jack said, and ran out of the restaurant.**

**9 months later things had changed greatly. The Baby had been born and everyone knew it was Blink's because it only had one eye. Zoey ran away and left the baby on somebody's doorstep. She went to Santa Fe because she loves it just as much as Jack did. Jack killed himself by jumping off the roof. No one was surprised though. Jack never got to keep anything he loved...not even his own life. **


End file.
